MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Ohio Senator JD Vance is gearing up for the biggest speech of his life.
He’ll address the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday night. It’s the Middletown native’s first big speech since being named former President Donald Trump’s running mate.
For the freshman senator who has been in politics for less than two years, this is his first handshake with the American people on a national stage.
Northern Kentucky University political science professor Dr. Shauna Reilly said Vance will certainly use the speech to talk about his upbringing in Middletown.
“That’s been his bread and butter,” Reilly said.
Vance published a memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," in 2016 that recounted the socioeconomic problems he observed during his childhood in the area. That lived experience, Reilly said, likely makes him an ideal candidate for some rust belt voters in the critical swing states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
It’s something that’s appealing to Middletown resident Jay Moorman.
“He wasn’t raised like Donald Trump, but he was raised like myself,” he said. “And you don’t forget that.”
Moorman, who is part of the Marine Corps, said he’d like Vance at the convention to share the values he learned in the Marine Corps: “Fortitude, courage, honor, loyalty and I think that pretty much sums it up.”
“We do the Christmas parade every year,” he said. “I’m going to ask the Vice President to be in our parade.”
Middletown resident Audrey Burch said she doesn’t politically align with Vance, but appreciated the time he wrote back to her when she emailed him a question about e-bikes.
“I think he probably could speak on how people struggle to find meaning in what could be termed a ‘rust belt economy,’” she said.
In tonight’s speech, Reilly said to look at Vance’s discussion of his policies, especially around abortion and labor.
“I think JD Vance provides some reassurance to more conservative voters who may have had some concerns with President Trump’s policies,” she said.
The tone of which Saturday’s assassination attempt of former President Trump is also something to watch for, Reilly said. In the immediate aftermath, Vance attacked the Biden campaign for their rhetoric. Whether or not he’ll soften for more of a message of unity is something political experts will be watching.
Lisa Dethless owns Iron Rose Mercantile in Middletown. She’s motivated by seeing a younger person in politics, and she would like to see him focus on small business development.
Dethless said she is “all about revitalization and restoring our community.”
“[Middletown] did go downhill for a little while, so we want to see improvements and see it up and growing again,” she said.
“I feel like a lot of [political] organizations concentrate on the larger parts of the communities, like the factories,” Dethless said. “They’re not coming to small business owners.”
The third night of the Republican National Convention will air on WCPO 9 and Scripps News.
